A colorful and animated celebration that originated in Japan has found a host of people in the Santa Maria Valley devoted to continuing the tradition of remembering the dead.

Every year, the Obon Festival's traditional food, arts and dances draws its share of loyal attendees, but organizers this year were overwhelmed by Sunday's turnout.

“I just can't believe the number of people who have come out,” said Alice Utsunomiya, president of the Women's Club of the Guadalupe Buddhist church. “For the turnout that we have this year, from 11:30 this morning, it's just been crowded.”

Utsunomiya could not estimate the number in attendance by the festival's end, but she said the event sold out of food.

“This was the best year for us,” she said.

Utsunomiya, 71, is a long-time member of the Guadalupe Buddhist Church - one of four in the Central Coast. And every year, the 100-member church relies heavily on the money raised at the Obon Festival.

Last year, she said, the festival raised about $25,000, all of which is used to pay utilities, minister fees and taxes. With the decline of membership at the church, she said the festival is critical for the survival of the temple and the congregation's culture in the Santa Maria Valley.

Advertisement

Hundreds filled the Santa Maria Veterans' Memorial Center Sunday, where a mix of Japanese arts and foods complemented the festival's central dance, the Bon Odori - a choreographed folk dance to honor one's ancestors.

Much like Mexico's Day of the Dead, Japan's Obon Festival allows local Japanese Americans to reconnect with their roots and pass on their customs to further generations. In order to do so, participants often rely on their family members to carry the torch.

Among those were four Orcutt sisters, fully clad in Kimonos, who say they've danced the Bon Odori since childhood.

“It's really fun and I think it's really relaxing,” said Amanda Garcia, 19, who was accompanied by her three sisters, Alexa, 16, Alyssa, 13, and Alana, 23. Utsunomiya is their grandmother.

In the six weeks leading up to the festival, the sisters and nearly 40 other dancers rehearsed for more than an hour every Tuesday to fully maser the gentle and symbolic movements of each dance - all of which tell a story.

“Once you get the steps down, it's all just repetition,” Amanda Garcia said. Some movements will depict the wiping of the forehead, the chiseling of a rock and the pushing of a barrel in the “Coalminer's Dance,” she explained.

First-time dancer, Jason Downey, 24, joined the dancers' group on the third day of practice and, to his surprise, said he immediately grasped the concept.

“It's a little like Tai Chi,” Downey said of the Chinese meditation exercise.

In the eyes of one audience member, the festival captures the essence of a local cultural diversity that separates itself from the typical Santa Maria barbecue party. For Corina Sanchez, 34, it's something else different for her family to do on a weekend.

“It kind of takes away some of the monotony of this town sometimes,” Sanchez said. “We like it and I hope they do it again next year.”

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@santamariatimes.com

July 23, 2007